I have been reading a lot about the new technology of using variable printing for personalized direct mail campaigns and how it will increase your response rates and ROI.  Well, be cautious here because it ain’t all its cracked up to be.   I don’t believe it’s worth spending extra $$ using it for prospecting.   The novelty of it is wearing off now that the marketplace is getting flooded with it.   I personally believe that it makes more sense to use VDP when sending relevant personalized direct mail pieces to customers or prospect where you KNOW their buying habits.  For example, if you are a travel business and you know that your audience is interested in a specific type of a cruise then it makes sense to make them an offer based on their interest.   But first, you have to know what turns them on before you offer them a hook.   You could also get them to go to a personalized URL where they can review your offer and click on to a link to book the trip.    I think it is a waste of time to send propects to a personalized URL if you don’t know what their buying habits are.   You are just throwing darts into a big black hole.    

Data mining is critical when using personalized direct mail.     By knowing what their past purchases were you can tailor a personalized direct mail piece with special offers that will wow them.    I hope this makes sense.  If not write a comment and I will give you my feedback.